Hard Rock chicken

There are only five types of people who still go to the Hard Rock Cafe in Beijing.


1) Losers who still think that Hard Rock T-shirts are cool.

2) Clueless tourists staying at the adjacent Sheraton who have no idea where to grab a decent bite in Beijing.

3) Prostitutes.

4) Men looking for prostitutes.

5) Singaporeans.

Yes, I am not kidding. There really are a lot of prostitutes in the Beijing Hard Rock. In fact, it is a well-known fact of the city. Need hookers? Go Hard Rock - at night, preferably after 10pm. A reliable source told me that there are so many ladies of the night that the restaurant should be renamed Hard Cock Cafe.


As for Singaporeans, that is the other weird bit about the Beijing HRC, and the reason why I was there earlier this evening (contrary to what you may think, I do not belong to Category 4). Besides being well-known for its hookers and mud pie, the Hard Rock here is also famous for its Hainanese Chicken Rice. It is the most bizarre of things, I know. But not long after arriving in Beijing and hunting desperately for good Singapore hawker fare, someone told me that the Hard Rock Cafe is the place to go for chicken rice. I went: "What? Hard Rock? Chicken Rice? Don't bluff." But veteran Singaporeans here verified it and since then whenever I told other Singapore friends of this chickadee nugget, they went: "What? Hard Rock? Chicken Rice? Don't bluff."


Apparently, when the Beijing Hard Rock was opened in 1994, they had a Singaporean chef and he introduced Hainanese Chicken Rice, Singapore style, to the rockers. I had to find out if the dish still sits there in the Dynasty of Rock and so tonight, I gathered two Singapore friends and headed down memory lane.


I was there early and quickly checked the menu. Holy chickens, there it was! Right next to Seafood Spaghetti and sharing pride of place with New York Strip Steak was the Hainanese Chicken Rice! My goodness, maybe Elvis really is alive.

And although the poor waiter shot us funny looks because we asked for metal forks and spoons, it really was quite an enjoyable meal. Presented like the "high-end" chicken rice served in Singapore hotels at 10 times the price of hawker centres, it came as a set, with a soup, a tray of chicken and even a tray of fried bean curd. The wait staff even asked beforehand if we wanted breast or leg meat. They have obviously been well trained on the finer points of Hainanese Chicken Rice.


The meat was rather tender, although if you compare it to the Kees of Singapore (you know, Boon Tong Kee, Wee Nam Kee et al), then of course, it was at least a notch below. But the rice was fragrant and not soggy like how most Beijing rice is served. The chilli was also authentic, although I would have preferred it to be a little spicier. At 79 yuan, it was expensive. But it beats the other chicken rice I have tried so far in the Chinese capital.


It was, as my friend Pat said, a rather "surreal" experience to be eating Hainanese Chicken Rice in a Hard Rock. Glance up from the table and there was Janet Jackson's blue silk blouse. The music videos showed Patty Smyth and New Order. The band played Creedence's Susie Q. It was time to leave. We had finished our chicken rice. And the hookers were about to take over their turf.